Ali Anthony Bell

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2020

Stories (40)

40 Stories

802 karma pts

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“Before the Point of No Return” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #95

It’s near the end of June 2009, and Alexander Blackwell is between a rock and a hard place. After his substantial year-end bonus in January the worldwide financial crisis hit France. Also, in January the CEO of the communication agency where he works set higher objectives for all of the project managers. For six months now Alex hasn’t been able to reach his objectives and has had very little commission-based pay. This is terrible, because his base salary isn’t sufficient; he relies heavily on the commissions and bonuses that make up about a ...

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“Just a Stone’s Throw Away” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #94

Daniel Starkman grew up in the Bay Area, and he was like all his friends. He was taught to take pride in being Jewish, while living in a world that was full of anti-Semitism. Zionism gave him a sense of belonging. It was an integral part of his life, and when he came of age, he didn’t hesitate to enroll in the IDF. He was thrilled to be able to defend Israel and to participate in taking back the land that was rightfully theirs. Lapidos Rivkin was from Tel Aviv. His parents came to Israel as Ashkenazi Jewish settlers before he was born. He wa...

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“After the Party’s Over” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #93

It’s Friday, November 13, 2020, and Antônia Silveira Cruz has just gotten home from school. She’s in her second year in Agriculture and Forestry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She wants to help save the Rain Forest. There’s not a mean bone in her body.Antônia’s phone rings, it’s Vivien, her BFF.“Hi Vivi, how’s things? Any good luck for Friday the 13th?”“Hi Tôni sweetie, everything’s chill. I’m so excited! There’s a big party tomorrow night on Sugarloaf! It’s been so long! I’m so tired of being cooped up, it’s about time! It’ll ...

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“Behind the Veil” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #92

It’s a quarter to ten, a half-an-hour past sunset, on Saturday, August 9, 2008, and Alexander Blackwell is headed out to the Utopia, a Blues bar on the rue de l’Ouest. He has a date with Yasmina, whom he met on the net. He’s wearing a beat-up black leather jacket (just for the style, not for the weather), a pair of old ripped up blue jeans covered with paint, a black t-shirt with “The Who” and a silhouette of Pete Townshend that he bought at a concert in the Twin Cities back in ’82, 26 years ago. It’s a relic that he cherishes. Black Italian...

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“Doing it by The Book” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #91

It’s December 1975, on a Greyhound bus somewhere between my home in Salt Lake City and Edmonton, Alberta. Jim came from San José, California, and now we’re on our way to our parents’ house for Christmas. I’m 15, and he’s just turned 18. We’ve both been sent to live with legal guardians.“I’ve got an early Christmas present for you, brother.” Jim hands me a large book, about 11” x 8” x 1.5” thick, THE WORLD OF M.C. ESCHER. On the top edge of the text block there’s an ink stamp, on the spine there’s a sticker marked ‘f769 E74z’, and when I open...

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“The Second Upsurge” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #90

It’s 4:30 pm on Thursday April 15th, 2021 and Abel Pran Mody is travelling on a shoestring. He arrived two days before on the cheapest flight he could find from O’Hare to Indira Gandhi International Airport, $920, by Emirates Airlines. He booked into the Hotel Lotus at the airport for two nights at only $8 a night, and the next day he took a trip to the Taj Mahal. How could he come to New Delhi and not stop to see that wonder of the world? Now he’s sitting on a hard wooden seat in a crowded a 2nd class coach on an unreserved train from ...

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“The WEB” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #89

It’s Friday December 14th and Alexander Blackwell has just gotten off work, his holiday is in front of him until Wednesday January 2nd, 2008. His paintings have been on exhibition at L’Osmos Bar at 33 rue de l’Ouest in the 14th District of Paris since November 26th, and will be there until January 3rd. He can’t wait to get home and log on to his Myspace to check his messages, and when he finally does, he’s in a sweat. Yes! His newest virtual lady friend, Emmanuelle Moreau, has invited him to meet tonight at 8. Her place. It’s already 7, he h...

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“Ruby Slippers” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #85

It was St. Patrick’s Day, so Alexander Blackwell headed out to Shannon Pub, just a 10-minute walk from his studio at 84 Boulvard Raspail in the 6th District. Of course, there was green beer, but Alex didn’t go for it, he took a stool and ordered a Bushmills Irish whiskey instead. He was already dressed for the occasion, with the black suit, white shirt, emerald green silk tie and matching pocket square he had worn to work. Even if it was a Monday, St. Patrick’s wasn’t to be missed.Sitting nearby, Yacout Benazziza, a 24-year-old law student w...

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“Too Sweet to be True” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #85

“That’s the thing about this city…” Alex was thinking to himself as Lena walked towards him “…so many beautiful women”. They had crossed paths several times recently, so they’d both realized that they were neighbors. Roy Orbison was singing in Alexander’s head ‘I don't believe you. You're not the truth. No one could look as good as you. Mercy!’ Flowing from under a black fedora, her blond curls fell freely over her black wool trench coat. A fuzzy white turtleneck softened her allure, and her cerulean eyes were gleaming with a look of appreci...

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“Kon Bon Wa” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #81

Alexander Blackwell’s tongue glides over his lips as he savors his Mojito, and he draws deeply on his Camel Natural (no additives), his feet tapping under the table to the familiar lounge music. The air vibrates with Anggun’s sensual ‘Summer in Paris’. He glances at the time on his phone, and exhales slowly as he leans back. His gaze follows the smoke as it drifts up into the subdued light.Rumi Kaneko takes a last look at herself in the gold leaf mirror, adjusts the spaghetti straps on her white French lace crop top and glances at her dark b...

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“Sitting with the Mayday Tribe” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #80

“Hello, Smithsonian American Art Museum, office of the curator, how may I help you?”“Hello, this is Anthony Bannister with NPR, may I speak with Mr. Grayson D. Stoke please?”“Let me see if he’s available, may I ask you the object of your call?”“I’d like to schedule an interview for a radio show.”“Hold on please.”The music isn’t bad for once, I recognize the saxophone, must be ‘Why Don’t you do Right?’ I’m just starting to enjoy it when…“Thank you for waiting Mr. Bannister, I’ll put you through.”“Hello Mr. Bannister, Grayson Stoke here, my as...

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“The Wedge Blade” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #80

“Hello, you’ve reached the Manning residence, we’re not available at the moment. Please leave a message and we’ll call you back.” It's a low husky voice on the answer phone, but it's not the voice of anyone in the old remote Texas farmhouse, it's only to dissuade thieves.“Hello Ms. Manning, Anthony Bannister from NPR, I was wondering if you could help me. Your son Ali Anthony gave me your name…”“Hello Mr. Bannister, yes, I’m here. He wrote me and told me you might call. I don’t quite understand what you want.”“It’s like this: I published a r...

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“When a Door Closes” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #72

It’s Sunday evening, November 1, 2020, the last day of a short weeks’ holiday from classes and I’m just finishing a two-hour weekly English tutoring session with a teenage brother and sister that I’ve been giving lessons to for about two years (less 6 months this year during the Corona virus lock down). We’ve finished the lesson and they’re competing with each other doing the hangman game, when I get a call from the superintendent of the high school where I’ve been teaching for just two months now. As my two learners are busy I answer. ...

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“On the Lam” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #68

September ’76 found me as the new kid in town and the foreigner, an American teenager in a Canadian high school. Gordon Bell High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I can still clearly remember my first day, down to what I was wearing; a red and green plaid western shirt with pearl snap buttons, light green bell-bottom jeans, and the red Adidas Gazelles that I loved so much. During the first recess I saw a tall dark-haired boy from my class having a smoke alone in a corner and went to introduce myself, pulling a pack of Craven “A” menthols out of...

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“Allana’s Vengeance” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #65

It’s October 29th, 1640, in East Lothian, Scotland, and 10 year old Allana is combing the forest looking for mushrooms by the light of the full moon. There’s extremely little to eat; the times are hard to say the least, but Allana is used to going hungry. She remembers the drought 3 years before and the famine that followed. Her eyes start to water as she remembers her father Gallagher, and how he had lost his life courageously defending his family from the raiders who came down from the Highlands.As she’s stooping down to pick some mushroom...

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Author bio

Discover my author's website at https://alianthonybell.com My life's story can be found in 3 adult autobiographical fiction novels, one collection of 10 short stories, and one short story memoir: 1) "From the Rockies to the Windy City" Novella (36,500 words) published December 2020 Rated 5-stars on goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4132314522 2) (sequel) "1983-1984 Surfing the Purple Wave" (58,250 words) Published May 2020 3) "Dream of Senegal and Other Stories" (23200 words) Published June 2021 (10 short stories from Reedsy prompts, credited as such) 4) "From the Red City to the White House" (52,500 words, my first novel and the best of all the above) Published April 2020 Rated 5 stars on goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53006567-from-the-red-city-to-the-white-house 5) "In the Lion's Den" Short story memoir (7000 words) Published April 2020 - Rated 5-stars https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53193793-in-the-lion-s-den Synopses of all the above can also be found on my author's website Hope you enjoy!